Bloomington-Normal's Jaycees chapter is ramping up for a bigger-than-ever Bruegala as the signature craft beer festival returns to downtown Bloomington for its 25th — and final — year.
Co-chairs Ariel Ameday and Taylor Kern have been planning the event since January, with Ameday saying they are doing a throwback to classic Bruegala.
“If you've been in town, you recall a giant beer fest,” said Ameday, who joined Jaycees after attending Bruegala in 2019. “We are having between 50 and 60 vendors this year, all kinds of variety of beer, cider, seltzer and other specialty beverages.”
This is more than three times the number of vendors Bruegala has had in past years, and it is not the only new thing coming for this year's festival on Saturday, Oct. 4 in downtown Bloomington.
“We get lots of questions of people asking if they can bring kids, and the answer has always been, 'Maybe not, it is a beer fest,," Ameday said.
But this year, they leaned in. The Jaycees have planned several children's activities from 3-6 p.m. They also have scheduled live music, including Kyle Yap, Kill the Martian and Front Street Collective as well as several food trucks for attendees.
Beer flows the whole time, but "face painting ends at 6 p.m.," Kern said. The festival ends at 9 p.m.
The final year
Ameday and Kern said several factors went into the decision to sunset the Jaycees' signature event.
“It was a whole different world before the pandemic," Ameday said. "It was a huge event and in 2020 we did a Bruegala-themed fundraiser where we sold apparel online in place of having a festival. We've just been rebuilding since then."
Although the festival itself has bounced back since COVID-19, the Jaycees along with social clubs across America have seen declining membership for decades. Kern said this led to the group not being able to keep up with the demands of a large event like Bruegala.
Plus, the uptick in craft breweries in and around Bloomington-Normal, many of whom host festivals of their own, gave Bruegala enough competition for the Jaycees to focus their attention elsewhere.
Kern said the saturation of great beer in the Twin Cities is a good problem to have.
“We have a lot of ideas in the works, a lot of our meetings with both the board and the general meetings have been brainstorming as far as what's next for us,” she said.
Currently, Kern said, the Jaycees — a service organization for adults under 40 — are looking into live music events and niche interests within Bloomington-Normal that hopefully will attract people in the community.
Bruegala is a charity event that has raised $275,000 over the past 25 years. This year, proceeds will go to Providing Access to Help (PATH) and Prairie State Legal Services.
The event takes place Saturday, Oct. 4 in downtown Bloomington on Main Street, and Jefferson and Center streets. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.
